Arame has a particularly high calcium content and can be bought already shredded in a dark-green tangle. Very strongly flavored, it is used in Japanese miso soup and a small amount makes an exciting addition to mushroom or seafood risottos as well as Asian rice dishes. It needs a 5-minute soak and then 30 minutes cooking.

Dulse, which is available fresh and dried, is good in soups and in vegetable or grain dishes. You can eat it deep-fried or, after a brief soak to soften it, shred it into salads or their dressings, for example the Asian salad dressing. This can be poured over cooked fish or grilled shrimps, or served as a dipping sauce.

Kombu is valuable in vegetarian stocks. A strip of kombu cooked with dried beans both speeds up their cooking time and contributes flavor - even a strip that has been simmered for 20 minutes in stock.

Nori is one of the most common seaweeds. It is sold in sheets which can be lightly toasted for additional flavor and then used in sushi or crumbled over rice or vegetables. Nori also comes ready-flaked, so it can be either sprinkled, uncooked, over rice dishes, or added to pancake or tempura batters for extra flavor.

** Asian Recipes **